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Stern hints at a shorter NBA season

After a shortened season caused by the lockout, the NBA apparently is considering making the regular season permanently shorter.

NBA commissioner David Stern told CBS Sports’ “The Jim Rome Show” that he would “certainly look at” a new model where the season would start on Christmas Day and trim a few games off its current 82-game schedule.

Obviously, there are financial limitations to the plan. It effectively trims eight NBA games from each team’s schedule. And that would have a heavy cost in terms of television, ticket and game revenue.

“We’re going to certainly look at it and raise the issue with the owners,” Stern told Rome. “The reason you don’t make it a shorter year is because of the infrastructure that’s been built. You have all of the buildings that have been selling an 82-game schedule. You have these local TV deals. You have these network TV deals. So, we’d have to negotiate with our players to take 20 percent less every year on the salaries that they’re getting. That is a problem.”

Stern is giving serious thought to moving from the current start in the middle of the NFL season. The NBA has always been an afterthought during that time in most league markets.

But there are some huge obstacles. Would the players take less money from a schedule that would be about 20 percent shorter.